


you, my everything.

by porcelainsimplicity



Series: savor every second together. [5]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Charles is Erik's Babysitter, Disabled Sex, Fluffy discussion, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-21 07:21:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3683169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainsimplicity/pseuds/porcelainsimplicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You were my backbone when<br/>My body ached with weariness<br/>You were my hometown when<br/>My heart was filled with loneliness<br/>Just as the dark was rising<br/>I heard you close the door again<br/>Just as the lights went off<br/>I know who I dream of<br/>You, my everything</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. day one.

**Author's Note:**

> and we're back with the fifth! story in this series. i cannot believe that it's gone this far and that people have liked this series so much. this story is set in december 1974. anyway, hope you like it! if you do, drop me a comment or a kudos please!

You were my backbone when  
My body ached with weariness  
You were my hometown when  
My heart was filled with loneliness  
Just as the dark was rising  
I heard you close the door again  
Just as the lights went off  
I know who I dream of  
You, my everything  
_you, my everything_ by ellie goulding  


Charles was watching as Jean levitated another ornament towards the Christmas tree when Alex came up to him. “Professor?”

“Whatever it is, Alex, it can wait.”

“No, I'm afraid it can't,” Alex said, causing Charles to look over at him. 

“What is it?”

“I was wandering the halls looking for Scott, because he's still going off and hiding from everybody, and I noticed the door to Erik's room is open. I know he had left that door locked.”

Charles closed his eyes for a moment and noticed the presence he'd been waiting months for. “Thank you, Alex.”

“You're welcome, Professor.” Alex started to walk away, but stopped. “Do you know where Scott is? I still haven't found him.”

“He's right there,” Charles said, drawing Alex's attention towards where Scott was curled up in the corner of the sofa, watching as Jean put the ornaments on the Christmas tree. “I think he likes her.”

Alex smiled. “I think he does too. But he's too young for me to encourage it.”

“I think she's too young to encourage it,” Charles murmured. “But perhaps someday.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Alex said. “I'm going to go sit next to him, see if I can get him to talk. I'll talk to you later, Professor.”

Charles nodded as Alex walked over to Scott and sat down, smiling when the boy started to engage in conversation with his older brother. He stayed there until all of the ornaments were on the tree, smiling at Jean and complimenting her on her control before leaving the room and heading upstairs.

Erik was laying on his bed when Charles entered the room, and as soon as he cleared the door, it shut and locked. “Erik.”

“Charles.” Erik looked over at him and smiled, but Charles gasped.

“What happened to your forehead?”

“It's nothing, Charles.”

“It's at least a four-inch gash, Erik,” Charles said, making his way over to him so he could examine it. “I'm taking you down to Dr. McIntyre.”

“Not now, Charles,” Erik said, capturing his hand and kissing the inside of his wrist. “Right now, I just want to lose myself in you.”

“My room...”

“Is locked,” Erik said. “And so is this one. I need you, Charles.”

Charles sighed but maneuvered his way onto the bed, lying down next to Erik. Erik rolled onto his side and brought their lips together gently. “I've missed this so much.”

“I've missed it too,” Charles said, taking a deep breath. “I've seen the news.”

“Not now, Charles.”

“Erik.”

“There will be plenty of time for that, Charles,” Erik said, bringing their lips together again. “Not now. Please.”

Charles reached for Erik when he began to pull away, drawing him into another kiss. “I'm too exhausted, Erik. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn't have pushed myself so much today.”

Erik dropped his head down to Charles's shoulder and breathed deep. “I'm sorry. I should have sent a message. But I'm trying to keep you from being discovered, so I thought that was a bad idea.”

Charles reached up and tangled his fingers in the back of Erik's hair, massaging his scalp gently. “It's alright, Erik. You're here now, and we'll have plenty of time for sex. The students' Christmas break begins tomorrow. Several of them are staying here, of course, but there will be no classes for me to teach.”

Erik took another deep breath before pulling away and nodding. “Good. I timed it well then.”

“Yes, you did,” Charles said, pulling him into another kiss. “Your son has been anticipating your arrival. I believe your daughter has as well.”

Erik froze. “Peter didn't tell her, did he?”

“No,” Charles said seriously. “He has, however, been telling her about a very cool mutant that he met here and comes to visit every once and awhile. And Wanda is curious. She's also very perceptive. She's likely to pick up on it.”

Erik sighed and brought his hands up to rub his face. “I'm not ready, Charles.”

“I know, Erik,” Charles murmured. “But you may not have a choice in the matter.”

Erik rolled onto his back and sighed. “She looks like Magda.”

“As you told me before you left.”

“I don't know how I'll be able to talk to her,” Erik mumbled.

Charles reached out and clasped his hand. “She's not Magda, Erik. She's Wanda. Or Scarlet Witch.”

Erik looked over at him. “Scarlet Witch?”

“She came up with it, not me,” Charles said, smiling. “It's a good name for her I think. If I didn't know any better, I'd say there's some magical properties to what she can do.”

“Magical properties?” Erik asked. “What can she do, Charles? You weren't sure last time I was here.”

“She has the ability to manipulate probability via her hexes,” Charles said. “The problem is that at the moment it's all subconscious, and if she makes the right gesture, the hex will happen automatically and will be the opposite of what she wants. That's why she goes to open a glass door and the glass shatters, or she reaches out for the salt and pepper shakers and suddenly the table's on fire.”

“Interesting,” Erik said. “Does she have any control yet?”

“She has a lot more control and a lot more success with her hexes when she is angry,” Charles murmured. “But not enough control yet. Angry out of control teenage mutants can cause a lot of damage.” 

Erik rolled them so he was hovering above Charles, looking down at him. “I'll pay you for whatever it is she's damaged.”

“That's not necessary,” Charles said, reaching up and tangling his fingers in Erik's hair. “The things that she's broken have no sentimental value to me. In fact, some of them were favorites of Sharon's.”

“Charles.”

“I'm serious, Erik. I knew what could happen to this place with mutants with no control inside of it. There is no need for you to pay for what she's damaged. She hasn't damaged anything in this house that means something to me. All of that stuff is locked away somewhere that the students cannot get to it.”

“Oh yeah?” Erik asked. “And where is that?”

“In this room,” Charles said, smiling at him. “The only thing in this house that means something to me is you.”

Erik bent down and kissed Charles deeply. “I don't believe that for a second.”

“Alright, well, maybe not. But the things that do mean the most to me are things that remind me of my father, and I have, with the help of Hank and Alex, hidden them away downstairs. No one can hurt them there.”

Erik smiled at him. “That's better.”

“Alright, maybe she's set Hank's lab on fire a few times, but there have been fire extinguishers right there. She's also good at shattering beakers.”

Erik laughed. “Hank has his hands full with her, doesn't he?”

“We agreed that perhaps it would be best for Wanda to not yet participate in the science portion of her education, because we've had to repair the lab four times now.”

“I'm paying you back for that.”

Charles pulled Erik into another kiss. “No you're not.”

“I don't want to have this argument, Charles.”

“Are we arguing? We're not arguing. You're kissing me.”

Erik gave him a bemused smile. “Oh, I am, am I?”

“Just shut up and come here,” Charles said, pulling Erik down to him, their lips meeting.

Erik carefully lowered himself onto Charles as he deepened the kiss, and he brought his hands up to grasp Charles's head gently. Charles's hands slid down Erik's back to the bottom of his shirt, and he was slowly inching it up when suddenly there was rapid knocking at the door that could only mean Peter was on the other side of it. 

Erik broke the kiss and rolled off Charles, and Charles sucked in a couple of deep breaths. “Peter, what is it?”

“Wanda just set the Christmas tree on fire!” Peter said through the door. “But that's not important. What's important is that Dad is here!”

Charles was about to answer when he heard a female voice shriek. “DAD?”

“Uh oh,” came Peter's voice. “I'll take care of it!”

“I take it that was Wanda?” Erik said quietly.

“Unfortunately yes,” Charles said, sitting up and reaching for his wheelchair. “I have to go tend to this. She's likely to hex Peter and that could end badly.”

“Has she hexed him before?” Erik asked as Charles maneuvered into the wheelchair.

“Peter spent three days in the infirmary downstairs,” Charles said, looking up at Erik. “Like I said, she has little control.”

Erik ran his hands over his face. “She's going to hex me, isn't she?”

“She may,” Charles said. “I will try to prevent that. Will you unlock the door now please? And I suggest staying in here.”

Erik raised a hand and the door unlocked and swung open. “I will not move so long as you promise to come back.”

“I promise,” Charles said, wheeling out of the room. As soon as he was clear of the doorway, the door swung shut behind him and locked again. Charles took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and determined that Peter and Wanda were in the cafeteria. 

The cafeteria that had already needed to be repaired six times.

Sighing heavily, he made his way to the elevator and down to the main floor, glancing over at the Christmas tree as he passed to see that it was burnt to a crisp and covered in the remnants of a fire extinguisher. Both Hank and Alex were there and Hank looked over as he went by. “Please take care of removing the burnt tree and one of you go into town and get a replacement tree from the lot. I have business in the cafeteria.”

“Wanda is furious, Charles,” Hank said. “Peter went running after her.”

“Yes, I'm well aware of what's going on,” Charles said. “Please do as I asked.”

Charles moved on as Hank nodded his head, making his way to the cafeteria where Peter had rearranged a few of the tables to keep them between him and Wanda. “Peter, Wanda.”

“Professor!” Peter exclaimed before ducking as Wanda threw another hex at him, shattering the glass above one of the buffet tables. “Wanda, can you not at least give me a chance to explain?”

“Wanda, please calm yourself,” Charles asked. “Hexing your brother will not solve anything.”

“It'll solve the fact that he obviously found Magnus and for some stupid reason has taken to calling him Dad!”

Charles sighed and watched as Peter ducked another hex, the door into the industrial kitchen set alight. “Wanda, please. There is more to the story of your father than you know.”

Wanda turned and looked at Charles. “Never call that man my father. He wasn't around for a single second of my life.”

“He had his reasons!” Peter yelled out, drawing Wanda's attention back to him. “He was in a concentration camp, experimented on! There are things you don't know, that Marya didn't know! His name's not even Magnus!”

Peter turned towards Charles and then his eyes widened. Charles gave him a confused look but Wanda bristled and threw another hex in Peter's direction, and this time, he didn't see it quick enough to get out of the way. It hit him in the left shoulder and Peter immediately collapsed in pain. Charles went to scold Wanda, but another voice beat him to it.

“Wanda, that is enough!”

Erik's voice. Charles turned to look behind him to find Erik standing there, his face murderous. “Erik, I thought you weren't moving.”

“I wasn't until Alex told me Peter's life may be in danger,” Erik said. “She's my daughter, Charles. Let me handle it.”

Wanda stared at him with an incredulous look as Erik walked around Charles and over to where Peter was lying on the floor in pain. “Peter, are you alright?”

“Do you see now why I didn't want to tell her?”

“That does not answer my question.”

“She burnt the hell out of my shoulder,” Peter said, moving his hand away to show Erik the wound.

Erik turned towards Charles. “Will you take him down to the doctor? I'll deal with Wanda.”

Charles gave Erik a wary look. “Are you sure that's good idea?”

“Trust me, Charles,” Erik said, and Charles nodded. Erik helped Peter up off the floor and sent him walking in Charles's direction, and when they were gone, he turned to look at Wanda. “Hello Wanda. I'm Erik. This is not how I wanted us to meet, but this is how it is. Now, do whatever you want to me.”

“Excuse me?” Wanda asked, her face still incredulous. “Like I'm going to hex Magneto. Hell, you'll probably kill me.”

“I will never harm you,” Erik said seriously. “Now, do whatever you want to me.”

“Marya said your name was Magnus Eisenhart, not Erik Lehnsherr.”

“That's how she knew me,” Erik said. “I was trying to start my life over.”

“Trying to start your life over?”

“Yes, I was. I had spent a number of years in a concentration camp,” Erik said, raising up his left sleeve to show her the number tattooed on his arm. “And I was experimented on and tortured by a mutant named Sebastian Shaw. But he wasn't Sebastian Shaw then; his name was Klaus Schmidt when I first met him. And if you let me, I will tell you the entire story about me and him. But only if you will let me.”

Wanda raised one of her hands and a streak of fire went racing across the tables towards Erik. He reacted instinctively, bringing the last table up to block the fire. “You left us!”

“I never knew your mother was pregnant,” Erik said calmly. “If I had, I probably never would have left.”

“Probably?”

“I will explain it to you, Wanda, but only if you give me the chance to. Your brother did.”

“Well, Peter's an idiot.”

“He's not an idiot,” Erik said, lowering the table so that he could see Wanda over it. “Please Wanda, give me a chance to explain. If you want to send me to the infirmary after that, then so be it. But I really would like to talk to you.”

Wanda stood there for a moment before nodding. “Alright, I'll let you talk. But from there, not any closer. And I still might hex you.”

Erik nodded. “Then I will tell you the truth, and you can do whatever you feel is necessary to me. Deal?”

“Deal.”


	2. day two.

Erik woke up to see a crisp white ceiling above him, and he knew exactly where he was. He blinked a few times before the pain hit him, and he turned his head to the left. Peter was laying there in a hospital bed, watching him carefully.

“So, now you've met Wanda,” Peter said softly. “Do you understand why I didn't tell you about her?”

Erik sucked in a deep breath and nodded slightly. “I deserve her anger, Peter.”

“You do not!” Peter exclaimed. “You had a reason, and a very good reason, not to be there. But reasoning with Wanda is like trying to reason with a brick wall, so she's angry and she probably will be for a really long time. But you totally didn't deserve to be hexed into the infirmary. I'm going to yell at her about that.”

“That is completely unnecessary,” Erik said. “I told her to do whatever she wanted to me.”

“Neither of you worry about that,” came Charles's voice, and Erik turned his head to look at him. “Wanda has been dealt with.”

“Charles, you didn't have to punish her,” Erik said.

“I didn't,” Charles said. “I put her on the phone with Marya and made her tell Marya what she had done. Marya took care of the discipline from there.”

Peter started laughing. “Yeah, Marya has a way of putting Wanda in her place that no one else has. Django, Marya's weird ex-husband, he totally used to try to punish Wanda but she'd pout at him and he'd soften up, but as soon as Marya heard about that, man, the yelling was intense.”

“Yes, Marya was heard well away from the actual telephone,” Charles said, wheeling himself next to Erik. “How are you feeling?”

“Horrible,” Erik murmured. “But I deserve it.”

“You do not,” Charles said seriously, but Erik just shook his head. 

“You don't understand. You can't understand this, Charles. You've never been in this position,” Erik said, reaching for Charles's hand. “Trust me, I deserve this.”

“I've tried telling him he doesn't already, but that didn't change his mind,” Peter said.

Charles opened his mouth to speak, but voices behind him distracted him. He turned towards the doorway and watched as Jean and Kurt were helped into the infirmary by Hank and Dr. McIntyre. “What on earth is going on?”

“Someone, and trust me Kurt, the Professor will find out who, dared Kurt to steal Scott's sunglasses,” Hank said, lifting up Jean and setting her on a gurney. “Scott closed his eyes as quickly as he could, but these two were in his line of sight.”

Charles rolled over to where Jean was sitting, observing the burn mark on the side of her face. “Jean, are you alright?”

“It hurts,” Jean said, whimpering a little. “But I'll be okay.”

Kurt suddenly appeared next to Jean on the gurney and Charles observed that the end of his tail was burnt. “Kurt, you know better than to do such things.”

“But had to to keep stuff,” Kurt said in his still broken English. “Take dare or lose stuff.”

Charles quickly looked into the young boy's mind, deduced who had dared him, and what it was Kurt was trying to say. “Andrew dared you to take Scott's sunglasses or he would have taken your books.”

“Books, yes,” Kurt said. “Take books.”

“Charles, let me patch them up,” Dr. McIntyre said, and Charles wheeled out of the way.

“Hank, how bad is the damage?” Charles asked, heading over to where Hank was standing.

“There's a pretty good sized hole in the floor,” Hank said. “And there's burn marks on the floor beneath it.”

Charles nodded. “Call the contractor, please. We already need him to make repairs to the cafeteria again.”

“Yeah, about that,” Hank said, scratching the back of his neck. “Wanda's been practicing her hexes outside today while muttering about him.”

Charles took in Hank's motion in Erik's general area and sighed. “What has she damaged now?”

“Well, I never knew snow could be set on fire,” Hank said. “The gazebo is pretty much gone. And there's some serious tree damage again. She's been out there for a few hours.”

“Will you please go convince her to come back inside, and then call the contractor? She must be freezing,” Charles said, sighing heavily. “Where is Scott?”

“He ran out of the room, and Alex went running after him,” Hank said. “I think I heard them by the swimming pool when I was observing the damage.”

Charles closed his eyes and then nodded. “They're actually in the swimming pool at the moment. Fully clothed. Oh dear, and just as he was starting to settle. I will go talk to them. You do what I've asked, please.”

Hank nodded and walked away as Charles turned back to Dr. McIntyre. “Michael, do you have this situation handled?”

“Yes, Charles,” Dr. McIntyre said. “I'm going to keep them down here for awhile though. These burns are pretty severe.”

Charles nodded and looked over at Erik. _Watch over them for me?_

_Of course._

“Then I shall return later,” Charles said, and he went out the door. 

Erik turned to Peter. “How well do you know those two?”

“Well, I know Kurt really well because he's always wanting me to run laps with him on my back,” Peter said. “I don't know Jean that well though. She seems nice.”

“That's because I am nice,” Jean called out. “And you're really fast, Peter.”

Peter grinned. “Thanks Jean.”

Erik laid his head back and then Kurt suddenly appeared on the edge of his bed. “Hello Kurt.”

“Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”

“No, I think you should practice your English,” Erik said. “It's much better than last time I was here.”

“English better, yes,” Kurt said. “Still better German.”

“Your English will improve the more that you use it,” Erik said. “That's how I learned it.”

“Hey, why haven't you ever told me about how you learned English?” Peter asked, and Erik turned his head to look at him.

“I learned a lot of languages very quickly after my release,” Erik said. “I knew that if I wanted to survive in the United States, I would need to learn English. Once I had English learned, I decided to learn French. I used to speak to Magda in French. She loved it.”

“I bet she did,” Peter said. “Marya said I should take French in school because it's the language of love. That made me not want to learn it.”

Erik laughed. “Oh, Peter, one of these days, you'll be glad to know how to compliment a girl in French, trust me.”

“Maybe, but I've been taking German classes,” Peter said.

“German?” Erik asked. “Charles offers German classes?”

“Yeah, with Herr Langhagen,” Peter said. “He's the one teaching Kurt English.”

Dr. McIntyre walked over with Jean, and he looked at Erik. “Are you capable of watching them? Charles has just sent me a message that I'm needed at the swimming pool.”

Erik nodded. “Put her on Peter's bed?”

Dr. McIntyre walked around Erik's bed and then lifted Jean up onto the edge of Peter's. “Thank you. I will return shortly.”

“Of course,” Erik said, looking over at Jean. “Other than the burn, how are you doing, Jean?”

“I'm doing well,” Jean replied, smiling at him. “I love it here.”

Erik smiled at her. “That seems to be a common theme amongst the students I've encountered. Have you made any friends?”

“Storm is my best friend,” Jean said. “She can control the weather! It's so neat. She can make it cloudy when it's hot outside during gym class, or she can make it snow when we want to have a snowball fight.”

Erik's smile turned into a grin. “So Ororo is Storm now, huh?”

“Like no one can pronounce Ororo correctly,” Peter said.

“You just did,” Erik pointed out.

“Whatever,” Peter replied. “The girl said she wanted to be known as Storm, so Storm she is.”

“Storm is great, Magneto,” Jean said. “You'd really like her.”

“I've met her,” Erik said softly. “She's an amazing mutant. You all are amazing mutants.”

They all grinned. “Thank you,” Jean said, and Kurt and Peter nodded. 

“Hey, Da—Erik,” Peter quickly corrected himself, “how about you tell the story of the submarine and the plane?”

Erik gave Peter a look. “I'm not sure that's appropriate for young ears, Peter.”

“Well, leave all the bad stuff out. Just tell them about the submarine and the plane.”

“A sumbarine?” Kurt asked. “What is sumbarine?”

“Submarine,” Erik corrected before sighing. “Alright, I'll tell you the story. And then maybe I'll tell you about the time that I turned a huge satellite dish around.”


	3. day three.

“Charles, Wanda is becoming a huge problem,” Hank said, looking around the nearly destroyed television room. “I have no ideas on how to solve it.”

Charles sighed and picked up what used to be a pillow before it had been ripped in half by a hex. “Well, I have one idea.”

“And what would that be?”

“You'd have to trust me with your most important project,” Charles said, and he heard Hank take a sharp breath. “It's the only room big enough to have a confrontation between them, Hank. Outside isn't an option. It's a blizzard out there.”

“The Danger Room?” Hank asked, sighing. “I see what you mean about being big enough, but Charles, I've put so much work into the computer system in there. If Wanda hexes through that door, then it'll all be gone. I mean, look at what she did to this room!”

“Hank, it's our only option,” Charles said, tossing the pillow remnants back onto what used to be a sofa. “This needs to be settled before she destroys the whole house.”

“Erik's not well enough to face Wanda again,” Hank tried, but Charles just shook his head. 

“Erik is perfectly capable of handling his daughter.”

“Right. That's why she put him in the infirmary in the first place.”

“Hank, I never thought I'd see the day when you would be worried for Erik's well being,” Charles said, amused. “I'd have thought that you would rather like Wanda to tear him apart.”

“My feelings on Magneto remain the same. However, he is a man with two children, and he needs to be alive for their sakes.”

“Is that so?”

Hank sighed. “Peter cursed me out again.”

“That's what I thought,” Charles said, looking around the room. “I never did like the décor of this room. Now we'll have a chance to change it. Can you put up some barriers to keep the children from coming in here? I don't want them making an even bigger mess.”

“Charles.”

“I will get Wanda, and we will get this settled. And I will sit in front of the door to your computer system and make sure that it does not get hexed.”

“Charles.”

“Do as I asked, Hank.”

Hank sighed again. “Fine. But tell Alex he can't spend all of his time in the infirmary with Scott. He's got obligations up here. Like watching the kids in the television room.”

“I will speak with him,” Charles said as he wheeled away from the room. He closed his eyes momentarily before heading towards what was left of the cafeteria. 

He found Wanda sitting in the middle of the floor, her head down. “Wanda.”

“Professor!” Wanda suddenly stood up and turned towards him. “Sorry. I thought I should probably go to a room where I couldn't really do any more damage.”

Charles looked around at burnt tables and all the shattered glass before motioning for her to come closer. “Wanda, I'm going to take you to a very special room downstairs. I am fairly confident that you can do it no damage whatsoever.”

Wanda stayed where she was. “He's down there.”

“Yes, he is,” Charles said. “And he's going into that room with us. This cannot continue Wanda. You'll destroy the whole house before your anger subsides.”

“Peter too?” Wanda asked after a moment.

“Peter as well,” Charles said, and then Wanda took a step towards him. “Come on now. I don't let many students come downstairs.”

Wanda nodded and fell into step alongside Charles as they made their way to the nearest elevator. “I didn't mean to destroy the television room, Professor. But then a news report about him came on the television and I just sort of lost it.”

“I understand that you are very angry, Wanda, and I am not going to tell you that your anger is misplaced. However, I think some better understanding of your father is in order. He told me that he did not get to finish telling you his story.”

Wanda sighed. “He was talking bullshit about concentration camps instead of about how he abandoned us.”

Charles stopped and reached out for Wanda's wrist, stopping her as well. “Wanda, he was not lying when he spoke to you about the concentration camp. He was in one, and he was subjected to the worst kind of experimentation and torture. He to this day calls himself Frankenstein's monster and does not believe that there is any good left in him. But I know better than that. He is a good man, even if he cannot see it himself.”

“Why is he even here?” Wanda asked. “I mean, he's like the most wanted man in the world. Why are you letting him stay here?”

“My relationship with Erik is very complicated,” Charles said, trying to figure out how to word things. “It is a conversation for another day. But he is very much welcome here, whether you like it or not.”

Wanda nodded and Charles continued on, Wanda falling into step beside him. “He abandoned us, Professor. I don't think I can forgive him for that.”

“He abandoned me once,” Charles said. “And I found it within myself to forgive him for that. I believe you can find it within yourself to forgive him as well.”

“I don't know about that,” Wanda said as they approached the elevator. “Sixteen years without so much as a word from him.”

“I went eleven years before I saw or heard from him again,” Charles said as he pushed the call button, the door sliding open. “And I had many reasons not to forgive him.”

“Like what?” Wanda asked as they made their way inside.

Charles pushed the button for the basement and then keyed in the code on the keypad. He waited until the doors were closed and looked over at Wanda. “Your father diverted a bullet into my spine on a beach in Cuba in 1962. That is the reason I am in this wheelchair.”

Wanda stared at him in disbelief. “And you forgave him?”

“Yes,” Charles said. “I did. He did not intend for the bullet to hit me. I was behind him, and he was trying to keep himself from being shot by a CIA agent.”

“And then he abandoned you.”

“And then he abandoned me.”

“For eleven years.”

“For eleven years.”

“And you still forgave him?”

Charles chuckled. “I will admit that the first time I saw him again, the first thing I did was punch him in the face.”

“I bet that felt good.”

“No, actually, it just made my hand hurt,” Charles said as the elevator system announced that they'd reached their floor. “Ah, here we are.”

The door opened and Charles wheeled out of the elevator, Wanda trailing behind him. “Whoa,” she said as she looked around. “What is this place?”

“That is not of your concern right now,” Charles said, heading towards the infirmary. “Let's go get your father and brother, shall we?”

Wanda followed Charles down the hall and into the infirmary, and a weary Dr. McIntyre turned around to see them. “What now?”

“Nothing, Michael. Just here to check on things and get two of your patients.”

Dr. McIntyre sighed in relief and turned back to his x-ray viewer. “If you're talking about Maximoff and Lehnsherr, then yes, you can get them. I'm afraid that young Mr. Summers is going to need to stay awhile.”

Charles nodded. “How badly is it broken?”

“Four broken bones in his ankle, another three in his foot,” Dr. McIntyre said. “What that boy thought he was doing jumping feet first into the shallow end of a swimming pool...”

Charles let Dr. McIntyre trail off and turned to Wanda. “Stay here for a moment, please.”

Wanda nodded and Charles made his way into the private room where Scott and Alex were. “And how is our patient today?”

Alex stood up and turned to Charles. “He still won't talk.”

Charles looked over at Scott and found him sound asleep. “I think we won't wake him now. But Alex, you cannot stay down here and stand guard over him. You have duties upstairs that need attended to, and because of your absence the television room has pretty much been destroyed.”

“By who?” Alex asked.

“Wanda,” Charles said. “I am taking care of that problem. You need to return upstairs and stand guard over whatever room Hank has moved the television into. And make sure that it's not tuned to the news reports. That's apparently what set Wanda off.”

“But what about Scott?”

“He will still be here,” Charles said. “And I'm sure he will speak to you tomorrow.”

“I'm not so sure about that.”

Charles looked at the sleeping boy again. “He's ready to. He's just scared that he's ruined all of his friendships. Perhaps tomorrow when you come down you can bring Jean and Kurt with you, show him that they're not afraid of or angry with him.”

Alex nodded. “That's a good idea.”

“Then we'll make it happen,” Charles said, turning around and heading for the door. “Please, Alex, go upstairs.”

“Alright,” Alex said as Charles made his way back into the main part of the room. 

“Michael, have you officially discharged Erik and Peter?”

“About an hour ago,” Dr. McIntyre said. “But they are too engrossed in their conversation to listen to me about going upstairs.”

Charles nodded and waved for Wanda to join him as he made his way towards the beds where Erik and Peter were. “Gentlemen,” he said, coming to a stop next to Erik's bed. “There is an important matter that the four of us need to solve. So please come with me.”

Charles didn't wait for Erik or Peter to say anything, just turned around and started heading for the exit. “Come along, Wanda.”

Erik and Peter slowly got out of their beds and fell into step behind her, watching her carefully. Wanda could feel her anger simmering, but didn't turn towards them, instead focusing on the soft whirring of Charles's wheelchair. Charles led them all to a door, and then asked Erik if he wouldn't mind opening it.

“Alright,” Erik said, and the door swung open. Charles made his way into the room and lights automatically came on, illuminating a huge space.

“Lady and gentlemen, welcome to the Danger Room,” Charles said. “Erik, please shut the door.”

The door swung shut and Erik walked over to Charles, bending down to whisper to him. “Charles, what are you doing?”

“She's destroyed enough stuff over you, Erik. I'm settling this once and for all.” Charles turned around to face Wanda and a fascinated Peter. “Peter, it's just a big room with nothing on the walls.”

“But it's called the Danger Room!” Peter exclaimed. “Does that mean dangerous things happen in here?”

“No,” Charles said, shaking his head. “You will be told more about the room when you need to be. For now, this is the space in which the four of us are going to solve this problem. Wanda, you will stand at the far end. Peter, you take the left wall. Erik, take the right. I will be right here in front of this door. The rules are as follows. Erik, you will start telling Wanda your story again. Wanda, you will listen to every word that Erik says before reacting. Peter, you will not say anything unless prompted. And I am here to make sure that the three of you don't kill each other.”

Erik gave Charles an uneasy look but walked over to the right wall, which made Peter go to the left, leaving Wanda no choice but to go to the far wall. Charles positioned himself in front of the door and then nodded. “Alright, Erik. Talk.”

Erik looked around the room for a moment before sliding down the wall to sit. “Start at the beginning?”

“Yes.”

Erik gave Charles another uneasy look, but he started talking. It didn't take long before Wanda had slid down the wall to sit, and Charles determined that Peter must be doing laps of the room because he had disappeared. They all sat there, listening to Erik talk about concentration camps and Klaus Schmidt, Magnus Eisenhart and his wife Magda, the chase for Schmidt that turned into a chase for Sebastian Shaw. Charles knew the story by heart, and he suspected Peter did as well, but Wanda sat emotionless on the far wall. 

When Erik was done, he looked over at Wanda and took a deep breath. “Now, do whatever you want to me.”

Wanda stayed still, and suddenly Peter appeared by her side. They had a quiet conversation that neither Charles nor Erik could hear, and then Wanda stood up and Peter disappeared again. “I hate you.”

“I have figured that out,” Erik said.

“I hate you for what you did to Magda. I hate you for abandoning us. I hate you for all of it.”

“I deserve that.”

Wanda sighed heavily. “Peter says you're a good guy. The Professor says you're a good guy. Even Professor McCoy said that I shouldn't hate you as much as I do. But then I see the news reports and I just think you're the worst guy in the world. So I don't know what to do but hex you because I'm afraid.”

“Afraid of what, Wanda?” Charles prompted.

Wanda slid back down the wall and stayed silent for awhile. “I'm afraid you're going to leave again,” she eventually said, burying her head in her hands. 

Erik stood up and walked over to her, sitting down beside her. “Yes, Wanda, I am going to leave again. I cannot stay here. It's too dangerous for me to be here for a prolonged period of time. But, I can promise you this. I'm going to come back.”

“He's telling the truth,” Peter said, suddenly appearing on Wanda's other side. “I mean, he's left me here like three times but he's always come back.”

Wanda elbowed Peter in the ribs, hard. “Why didn't you tell me about him, you jerk?”

“Because I knew how you'd react?” Peter said. “Look, Wanda, he was just adjusting to the fact that he had one kid, and he was freaking out enough about that. I didn't want to lump the whole 'hey, I have a twin sister who hates you' thing on top of it. I was going to tell you, I really was. But I was going to wait until I could introduce you properly and you could get to know him and realize that he never meant to hurt us.”

“Of all the people in the world, my father had to turn out to be Magneto,” Wanda muttered. “Marya hates you.”

“She has good reason to,” Erik said. “And so do you. I won't tell you otherwise. But I will apologize for not being there. You missed out on having a father and I missed out on being a father. I never heard your first word or watched your first steps. I know this is not an ideal situation, Wanda. But it's the situation we're in. It's up to you now to decide if you want me to be a part of your life or not. I would really like to get to know you. I'd love to know my daughter. But if you say no, then I will step back. But I won't stop being part of Peter's life, and I won't stop coming here every once and awhile. I have reasons for coming here that have nothing to do with Peter.”

Wanda fell silent again, and after a few minutes, Erik looked up at Charles for help. But Charles just shook his head and nodded at Wanda. “It's up to her, Erik.”

Eventually, Wanda looked over at Erik. “I'll think about it. But I promise not to hex you or anything else in the meantime. At least not on purpose.”

“Alright,” Erik said. “Deal.”

They all looked up at Charles and Charles just smiled. “You three make a very interesting family, you know.”

“Well as Peter likes to tell me, being a mutant is the family business,” Erik said, standing up and walking towards Charles. “Am I allowed to go back upstairs now?”

“Yes, Dr. McIntyre has discharged you both,” Charles said, looking down at the twins. “Come along, you two. I know better than to leave you down here alone.”

Peter was up by their sides in an instant, but Wanda slowly walked over to them, her head down again.

“Wanda,” Charles said. “Don't keep your head down. You should be proud of your family.”

“I'm proud of being a Maximoff,” Wanda said, looking up. “I don't know about being a Lehnsherr yet.”

“That's alright,” Charles said. “Erik takes some time to get used to, I will admit.”

Erik turned to look at Charles, but Peter just laughed. “Trust me, Wanda, once you get past all the 'hey let's take over the world mutants' bullshit, Erik's pretty cool. I mean, he can make virtually anything out of metal. He made me this pendant.”

Wanda watched as Peter reached under his shirt and pulled out the double helix pendant. “That's pretty cool,” she admitted.

“I will make you one, if you'd like,” Erik offered. 

Wanda thought about it for a moment before nodding. “That would be nice.”

Charles smiled. “Well, I think that's a wonderful place to end this. Now, let's go upstairs and see what the other children are doing. Erik, if you'd like to go to my study, we can play a game or two of chess before dinner.”

“Chess sounds wonderful, Charles.”


	4. day four.

Charles gasped as Erik slid into him, pausing for a moment before pulling back and setting a hard and fast pace. “Oh fuck, this feels good.”

Erik just laughed as he snapped his hips back and forth harder. “It better feel more than good.”

“Amazing, fantastic, bloody fucking godly,” Charles breathed out. “Are those better words?”

“Better,” Erik said, bending down to kiss Charles hard. “But you're coherent, so I must not be doing enough.”

Charles let out a filthy moan as Erik changed the angle a bit. “Oh, trust me, you're doing enough.”

Erik groaned as Charles's hands reached up and he threaded his fingers through the back of Erik's hair, keeping him close. Erik bent down and kissed him again, harder than before. Sex with Charles was absolute perfection, he had decided, and he never wanted it to end.

And then there was a knock at the door and a soft female voice saying “Erik?” and Erik froze mid-thrust. 

Charles groaned and looked over at the door. “It's Wanda. She wants to talk to you about what happened in the Danger Room.”

“Fucking hell,” Erik got out. “Now?”

“Do you want me to make her go away?” Charles asked. “Because I very easily could.”

“Yeah, but then will she get the courage to come try again?” Erik dropped his head down and sighed. “How are we going to explain why you're in here and how we look?”

Charles closed his eyes for a moment. “There, she's walking away and is coming back in an hour.”

Erik sighed. “I don't like it when you manipulate my children's minds.”

“Would you rather I have her walk in here with us in the middle of this?”

“She's going to have to find out some time.”

“Yes, but preferably not in the middle of us fucking,” Charles said. “Speaking of which, do you think you could get back to it now?”

Erik growled and kissed Charles hard, slamming his hips forward. Charles's moan was evident even though his lips were fused against Erik's, and instead of the hard and fast rhythm he'd been using, Erik moved slow and gently, make Charles whimper.

“You like that, liebling?”

“I like anything you do,” Charles breathed out, letting his hands drift down Erik's back. “Mmmm, this is so good.”

“You know, someone is going to figure out that we're both missing. I mean, we have been locked in here for a couple of hours now.”

“Office, playing chess. I may have put that in everyone's minds.”

“When did you do that?” Erik asked, moving a little faster. 

“When I made Wanda go away,” Charles said, pulling Erik closer. “Go as fast as you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Charles said, letting his mind nudge Erik's. “Let me in.”

Erik started to move his hips faster as Charles's mind filled his head, and Charles gasped. They'd started doing this when Charles's dick wouldn't harden to enhance Charles's arousal, and Erik loved every second of it. “Mmm, you feel fucking brilliant.”

“God, Erik, move faster,” Charles got out, his body simmering with arousal. “Get us off.”

Erik kissed Charles again before sitting up more, grabbing onto Charles and moving him around so he could really piston into him, harder and faster than he'd been going before. Charles's breaths started to hitch as Erik inched closer and closer to climax, and soon Erik could hardly breathe for all the tension in his body. A few more thrusts and climax hit, and they both let out long moans of pleasure as Erik spilled himself inside Charles. He fell forward onto Charles for a few moments before shoving himself out and to the side.

Charles stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, wiping the sweat from his eyes. Eventually he looked over at Erik and found Erik looking at him. “I think that was the best one yet.”

“It's certainly up there,” Erik murmured, reaching over to pull Charles into a kiss. “Even if it was partially interrupted by my daughter.”

Charles shifted closer to Erik and put his head on Erik's shoulder. “Stop thinking about that.”

“Well, it's a little awkward, Charles.”

“It's no different than if we were a regular old married couple in a regular old house somewhere in the city and had a couple of kids,” Charles said, tracing patterns into Erik's skin. “Except then they'd probably hear us.”

Erik let out a laugh. “A regular old married couple, huh?”

“Yeah,” Charles said softly. “We'd be a great one.”

“An illegal one.”

“Maybe,” Charles said. “But I don't really care if the fucking state of New York thinks what we do is illegal. I think it's perfect.”

“It is perfect,” Erik said, wrapping an arm around Charles's shoulders. “God, could you imagine us in a house in the city with my kids? The four of us would make one strange family.”

“We'd make a great family,” Charles said. “We are a great family.”

“We're a family, huh?”

Charles took a deep breath. “Peter asked me if he could consider me his father as well.”

“He did?” Erik asked, surprised. “When did that happen?”

“A few months ago,” Charles said. “He said it felt natural to him to consider me his father too. I don't know if that comes from the close relationship we have as professor and student, or if it has something to do with my relationship with you. Or maybe it's both. I really don't know. I was too shocked by it to look inside his head and get the meaning.”

“What did you say?” Erik murmured.

“I told him that he could consider me his father as well if that's what he wanted to do,” Charles said softly. “I already consider him my son, so I don't have a problem with the opposite.”

Erik stayed silent, and Charles shifted around so he could see his face. “Erik? Are you okay with that?”

“It, um...” Erik trailed off. “It means a lot to me that you consider him your son. It means you'll protect him.”

“I'll protect him with my life,” Charles said. “Wanda too.”

“I guess we really are a family then,” Erik said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Charles's lips. “All that's left is to make it official.”

“And make sure we don't get arrested.”

“And make sure we don't get arrested,” Erik said, turning his gaze back to the ceiling. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Of course.”

“You said a regular old married couple,” Erik said softly. “Does that mean you consider us married?”

Charles stayed silent for a few moments, unsure how Erik would take his answer. “Yes, I do.”

“So this is it for you then,” Erik said. “No finding a woman to marry someday, no having children of your own. You just want me and my children forever.”

“Yes,” Charles said, pressing a kiss to Erik's shoulder. “Is that not what you want?”

Erik reached up and ran his free hand through his hair. “I've thought about it from time to time,” he eventually said. “Generally when I'm in a bar and getting hit on. I never do it, because I'd consider it cheating on you. That always gets me thinking about your place in my life, and Charles, I cannot imagine my life without you in it. Sometimes when I'm laying awake at night, I close my eyes and picture us when we're older, sitting on the back patio and sharing a bottle of scotch, watching the stars. I know I've been married once, and I loved Magda, I did, but it was nothing like this. This is more.”

“I wouldn't suggest ever mentioning that to your children,” Charles said, smiling. “But I'm glad you don't go home with people in bars, and I'm glad you picture us together when we're older.”

“It really doesn't bother you that there will never be a ring on your finger to signify commitment for life?”

“I don't need a ring to know how you feel about me, Erik. And I don't need you to have a ring to know how I feel about you. But I'm telling you now, if the day ever comes where we can get married, which it probably won't, but if it did, I'd want to.”

“Then we'd have to tell everybody.”

“We'll have to tell everybody when you come home for good.”

“Good point,” Erik murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind Charles's ear. “I wonder how they'll all take it.”

“I don't care how they'll all take it,” Charles said. “They either accept it or they're gone.”

“Charles.”

“I'm serious,” Charles said. “You are a permanent part of my life, Erik Lehnsherr. And anyone who doesn't understand that can fuck off.”

Erik smiled and squeezed Charles's shoulder. “You ready for a shower?”

“If we must.”

“Hey, you're the one who told my daughter to come back in an hour.”

“I know, I know.”


	5. day five.

“All she wanted was to see if I'd made her that pendant yet,” Erik murmured sleepily into the early morning. 

Charles curled up along his side, tracing patterns into Erik's chest. “She'll come around. But that's not what I asked you.”

“Charles.”

“Erik.”

Erik sighed heavily. “I don't want to discuss this with you.”

“Too bad,” Charles said. “Ninety-five Tandem employees dead. Not that I'm mourning them, but what happened to going in quietly to get the information we need?”

“It worked, didn't it?” Erik said seriously. “Slip a few files to the right journalist, suddenly the Tandem massacre looks like mutants taking back control of themselves instead of submitting to experimentation, mutilation, and torture.”

“Erik.”

“Tandem has been exposed, Charles. That's all that matters.”

“Your name is attached to it.”

Erik sighed again. “It's just speculation on their part. They have no idea if I was part of it or not. The few mutants they arrested are willing to die for the cause and they won't say a word. Besides, no one can find me here. If you've seen the news, they think I'm in the Canadian Rockies.”

“And what about your team?” Charles asked. “Do they know where to find you?”

Erik picked up on something in Charles's tone, reaching out and grabbing his hand and pressing it against his chest. “What happened?”

“The phone, earlier,” Charles said softly. “Your son answered.”

“You let Peter answer the phone?” Erik asked before squeezing Charles's hand. “That's not important. Tell me what's important.”

“They asked for Magneto. Not Erik Lehnsherr, but Magneto. Your son was composed enough to ask why someone would expect such a megalomaniac to be at this number and to think otherwise, but Erik.” Charles's voice was shaky. “Someone called here either with the expectation that you would be here, or that someone here could lead them to you.”

Erik squeezed Charles's hand again. “I have to leave.”

“I know,” Charles murmured, tears slipping down his face. “That's why I wasn't going to tell you.”

“Charles.”

“Stupid idea, I know, Erik. That's why I gave in and told you.”

Erik reached out and turned Charles's head towards him, bending down and kissing him deeply. “I have to leave right now. Not because I want to, but because I need to. For your safety. For the twins's safety. For everyone's safety. And it's going to be a long, long time before I will feel safe enough to come back here.”

“I don't want you to leave,” Charles whispered. “But I need you to leave too. For all the reasons you gave. I've known it was a risk having you here, Erik, but it was one worth taking.”

Erik bent down and kissed Charles again before throwing back the linens and climbing out of bed. “It's too much of a risk for it to happen again.”

“You've got to come back some time,” Charles said as he reached for the bedside lamp. “You can't stay away forever.”

“I won't stay away forever. I can't. The three most important people in my life are here. But Charles,” Erik said, pausing to pull a shirt over his head. “It's going to be a long, long time before I come back.”

Charles reached for his wheelchair and maneuvered his way onto it, reaching for his own shirt. “I understand that. But I cannot go months without hearing from you, Erik. Not anymore.”

Erik reached to pull on his pants as he looked over at Charles. “Then I will find some way to communicate with you. But it's probably going to be months until you see me again.”

Charles put his shirt on, glanced down at his pajama bottoms, and started wheeling himself to the door. “Unlock it please. I need a drink.”

“Charles.”

“Meet me in the kitchen once you're packed.”

“Charles.”

“Please, Erik.”

Erik sighed heavily and unlocked the door, watching as Charles disappeared into the hallway. He moved around the room, tossing some things towards his suitcase, levitating others. He realized after a minute that he wasn't alone, and he looked up in surprise to see Wanda standing there.

“It's a little early for you to be up, isn't it?”

“You're leaving.” The look on Wanda's face was unreadable. “Peter said you were going to leave tonight, and he was right.”

Erik sent the last of his things towards his suitcase before walking over to her. “I have to, Wanda. For everyone's safety.”

“Peter was looking forward to spending Christmas with you,” Wanda said, her voice unreadable too. “I haven't seen him so excited about something in awhile.”

Erik sighed to himself. “I'm afraid that this is just going to be the next in what I'm sure is a long list of disappointments that both he and you have. If I could prolong my stay, I would. I would love to spend Christmas with my children, and someday, I hope that will happen. But I cannot draw anyone to this place, and I'm afraid that I have already done so, which means I need to leave immediately.”

Wanda nodded, reaching up and pulling a necklace from underneath her shirt, a double helix pendant hanging from it. “I wanted to say thank you. For the necklace.”

Erik smiled. “You're welcome, Wanda.”

“I'm still not sure about you, and I'm definitely not as okay with things as Peter is, but I do want to get to know you, Erik. So I hope this is not goodbye forever.”

Erik took a step closer to her and held out his hand. “It is not goodbye forever. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Wanda took his hand and found herself pulled into a hug. After a moment, she hugged Erik back, and then broke away with a smile on her face. “I'll look after Peter for you.”

“Hey!” came Peter's voice as he appeared next to them. “I can look after myself just fine, thank you very much.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Like I said, I'll look after him.”

Peter reached out and shoved Wanda's shoulder and Wanda turned to him. “Do you want me to hex you?”

Peter was suddenly on the other side of Erik. “Make her promise she won't hex me while you're gone.”

Erik glanced between the two of them before sighing. “I think I miss the days before you two had powers.”

“No you don't,” they both said at once.

“We were worse then, really,” Peter said.

“I used to rip out chunks of his hair,” Wanda added. “Marya would get so mad at me.”

“And I used to tear apart her dolls,” Peter chimed in with. “Marya hated it.”

Erik threw up his hands. “Fine, no using your powers on each other until I get back.”

“Fine,” they both said.

Erik moved over to his suitcase, arranging things within it before closing and locking it. He picked it up and then motioned for the twins to walk out of the room, then followed them and locked the door behind them. “Alright, while it's just the three of us. I have a few things that I want to say.”

Peter appeared next to Wanda, and they both nodded.

“First, Peter, the bank account that I gave you access to? Give Wanda access to it as well.”

“Alright.”

“Second, I want you both to keep an eye on things around here. Charles and his crew can't have eyes everywhere, and trust me, he would be more than welcoming to having a little help from the older students like you.”

“Okay,” Wanda said, though her tone let Erik know she was confused. He'd leave Peter to clarify things for her.

“Third, if you get a letter from Magnus Eisenhart, it'll be from me.”

“Letters! Awesome!” Peter exclaimed. “He's never sent letters before, Wanda.”

“Fourth, keep an eye on Charles for me. Peter knows this, but Wanda, Charles is someone very special to me. One day, you will learn just how special that is. But for now, I just need you two to watch out for him. Make sure he's getting enough sleep. Make sure he isn't drinking scotch by the bottle. Just, make sure he's okay. For me. Please.”

Wanda gave Peter a confused look, but he just shook his head. “Dad and Charles have to be the ones to explain it. I'm not getting in the middle of all that.”

“Just, look after him, okay?” Erik asked, bringing their attention back to him. When they both nodded, Erik smiled at them. “Wanda, I'm sure Marya has told you this, but you look so much like Magda that it makes my heart ache.”

Wanda smiled. “She's mentioned it, but coming from you, it's different.”

“I will be back, I promise,” Erik said, walking towards the stairs. “Now go to sleep, both of you.”

Peter raced towards Erik, gave him a quick hug, and then was pulling Wanda back towards their rooms. “He has to say goodbye to the Professor by himself.”

Erik turned and jogged down the stairs, finding Charles waiting for him in the entry way. “Charles.”

“Peter told me to meet you here.”

Erik's gaze shifted from Charles to the bottle in his lap. “Charles.”

“Only one, I swear, but I need it tonight,” Charles said, swallowing hard. “I knew this would happen but I didn't want to face it.”

Erik nodded. “I don't know where I will be for the next few days. I'm going to get to the West Coast as soon as I can, and then head north. I'm going for an appearance in Alaska, as far away from you as I can get. Once I'm somewhere safe, I'll get in touch. No one but the twins knows about my alias of Magnus Eisenhart. That's who you will hear from, when you do.”

“Erik?”

“Yes, Charles?”

Charles looked deep into Erik's eyes. “You're everything to me. You know that right?”

“And you, my everything,” Erik said, crouching down before him. “Charles, I will be back as soon as I believe it is safe for me to be. In the meantime, you need to worry about who might think this place is friendly enough to harbor a person like Magneto.”

“You are Magneto, you idiot,” Charles said softly.

“Not with you I'm not,” Erik responded, leaning forward to kiss him softly. “I'll be back, Charles. I promised you that.”

“And I know how well you keep your promises,” Charles murmured. “I'll look after them.”

“I wouldn't trust them with anyone else,” Erik whispered, leaning in for another kiss. “I've got to go now.”

Charles grabbed Erik's hand and pressed a set of keys into it. “Silver Buick, in the garage. It can't be traced back here.”

“Charles?”

“Did you think I was going to let you wander out into the middle of a snowstorm?” Charles asked. “Or that I hadn't prepared for a way for you to get out of here if something like this happened?”

Erik's eyes glowed with love. “Can't be traced back here?”

“It's registered to an apartment in the city whose owner is a fictional person who lives in Germany,” Charles said. “Like I said, can't be traced here.”

Erik pulled Charles into another kiss before standing up and looking down at the keys. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Now go. Lord only knows what could be headed this way thinking that you're here.”

Erik turned and headed in the direction of the garage. “Charles? I will come back.”

“I know, Erik,” Charles said, sniffling. “And I'll be here when you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, i know, this was a short one. i knew this would be the ending, i just didn't know where the ending would work out being, and it worked out being here. 
> 
> this concludes this little universe, and i just want to say thanks to everyone who came along for the ride. it's been quite the journey since i started writing beautiful pain after dofp came out, and i'm glad that you all shared this with me. i know there's a lot of questions that are unanswered, stories that are unresolved, but i decided to leave those up to your imagination. you decide how this all ends, with whatever ending you wish for them.

**Author's Note:**

> So I self-published a book! It's a YA fantasy story and if you want to get it (it's cheap!) then [go here!](http://www.amazon.com/Aetherion-Rising-Adelia-Chamberlain-ebook/dp/B00FUT7UF4/) Do you want to read the first two parts free? [Go here!](https://www.wattpad.com/story/44126937-aetherion-rising/parts)


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